


life on the ice

by orphan_account



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Hockey, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, First Date, Fluff, Kylux - Freeform, M/M, background stormpilot, ben plays hockey, carolus is a figure skater
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-01
Updated: 2016-04-01
Packaged: 2018-05-30 11:11:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6421630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ben Solo joins the local hockey team, and soon falls fast and hard for team puck bunny and phenomenal figure skater - Carolus Alexander Hux III</p>
            </blockquote>





	life on the ice

“C’mon Ben, we’re gonna be late!” Rey huffed, tapping her skates on the floor impatiently as she looked down at her cousin who was busy lacing up his skates.

“Ok, ok, chill out, I’m coming.” Ben replied, grabbing his stick and following Rey out of the locker room. They made their way over to the rink, noticing a few other members of the team already warming up. Poe, and Finn were chatting idly as they skated back and forth, Phasma was shooting with Snap as the goalie, and a few other team members sat on the benches talking about last night’s game.

Ben just recently joined the team – he was an art major but he grew up playing deck hockey so he knew his way around the sport. He had only been to a two or three practices, and he was now getting used to working with everyone.

As Ben surveyed the rink, a flash of ginger hair flew across the ice. Ben eyes widened as he looked for whoever flew passed him, when his eyes finally landed on a skinnier boy – definitely not a hockey player – sliding gracefully past the walls.

Ben nudged Rey, motioning to the boy across the rink. “Who’s that?” He asked. Ben was quite sure that he had never seen him here before.

“Oh, that’s Carolus. He’s a puck bunny.” Rey said, leading the two onto the ice.

“Puck bunny?” Ben questioned, tilting his head to the side quizzically. Rey rolled her eyes, whipping out her phone and pulling up ‘urban dictionary’. She typed in the phrase ‘puck bunny’ before passing it to Ben.

The word finally popped up, and the definition read –

_“A female/male person who attends hockey games – not because they enjoy the sport, but because they display **interest** in the players.’ _

Ben furrowed his brows for a moment before realization hit him. “Oh. _Oh._ ” Ben finally understood.

“Yeah. Although, he’s not really that, y’know, _slutty_ , per se. He kinda just hangs around here. I don’t even know why we call him a puck bunny.” Rey went on, following Ben as he skated over to the benches. “He’s also like the team medic. Obviously, he can’t fix a broken bone or something like that, but he can fix minor injuries. He’s stitched me up more times than I can remember.”

“Hm. Interesting. He seems like a nice guy.” Ben murmured. For the rest of practice, Ben couldn’t seem to get this ‘Carolus’ guy off his mind. Sure, he was pretty attractive, but that didn’t mean he was gonna hook up with him, right?

The coach dismissed the team, watching as the players skated over to the other side of the ice and make their way to the locker rooms. Carolus slid over with the team, but instead of going with them to the locker room, he made his way into the bleachers.

He sat down on one of the benches, pulling off his pure white skates and stuffing them into his duffel bag. Slinging the bag over his shoulder, he waved goodbye to the coach and made his way out of the stands and into the main hall of the building.

“Carolus, wait up!” Someone called from behind him. He turned around to see Rey, Phasma, and a taller man whom he did not recognize, walking over to him.

“'Lus, I want you to meet my cousin, Ben Solo. Ben this is Carolus Alexander Hux III, or 'Lus for short.” Rey teased, seeing Carolus roll his eyes at the mention of his full name before extending a hand for Ben to shake.

Ben reached out and took Carolus's hand, shaking it as they exchanged greetings. “So, I hear you’re the team puck bunny?” Ben started, cracking a grin as Carolus once again dramatically rolled his eyes.

“I’m actually a figure skater, but everyone calls me a ‘puck bunny’ thanks to a certain someone who I won’t name.” Carolus explained, before pointing at Phasma who simply laughed and clapped him on the back.

“Oh wow, sounds neat.” Ben said, following the girls as they lead them into the parking lot. “Sorry if I offend you in any way, but you have quite a thick accent. Are you from out of country?”

“Yeah, actually. I’m from Dublin, Ireland, but I’m here studying law at Cornell.” Carolus replied, Ben humming in response.

“Why am I not surprised you go to an Ivy League school?” Ben said, eliciting a snort from Carolus. “Anyway, I’m actually majoring in traditional arts at a university not far from there.” Ben continued.

“Huh, I wouldn’t have pegged you for an artist.” Carolus thought out loud. Ben shrugged. “I get that a lot.”

“If you don’t mind, would you maybe wanna swap numbers? We could hang out sometime, maybe grab a bite to eat if you’d like.” Carolus suggested.

“That sounds nice.” Ben nodded in agreement, handing Carolus his phone. He typed in his number before handing Ben the device back.

“Call me.” Carolus winked before walking over to his car. Ben watched as he ducked into the driver’s side, started the engine, and pulled out of the parking lot. He was pulled out of his trance when he heard a feminine squeal from behind him. Turning around, he spotted Rey and Phasma grinning widely in excitement.

“Ben’s got a date!” Rey cheered, doing a dorky fist pump as Ben rolled his eyes. “I have to tell my dad.” She said, whipping out her phone.

“No, don’t tell Uncle Luke!” He tried to stop her but it was too late – she had already sent the message. “Dammit Rey, now he’s gonna tell my parents and they’re gonna be all over me.” He sighed, carding a hand through his hair.

“They would find out someday.” Rey retorted, following Phasma to her car. “I didn’t know 'Lus was a figure skater though.” She murmured, getting an intrigued ‘huh’ from Phasma.

“Alright well, I’m going home. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” Ben waved goodbye before unlocking his car and climbing into the driver’s seat. He let out an elongated sigh, slumping against the seat with a ‘thump’. After a few moments, he glanced down at his phone. A large grin spread across his face. “I got a date.” He cheered to himself, placing his hands on the steering wheel and starting the engine. Now he just had to figure out just what to do about it.

_________________________

Later that night, Ben stood in his the kitchenette of his dorm, staring down at his phone on the counter. He was having difficulty whether or not to text Carolus, and if he did – what would he say? After another tedious moment of contemplation, he decided to go for it and just text the guy.

Tapping the contact, he pulled up the messages app and began typing a message. It took him awhile to come to a final decision on what he would send. After a few minutes of revision, he decided to send him this –

_“Hey Carolus! I was wondering if you were interested in getting coffee tomorrow after practice? – Ben”_

He sent the text before plugging his phone into the wall charger, setting it back down on the counter and making his way to his bedroom. It wasn’t long before Ben passed out, his face pressed into the pillows. He was definitely going to regret the fact that he forgot to take the hair tie out of his hair.

_________________________

Ben only had a few morning classes that day, before he came home and relaxed for the rest of the day. At around five o’clock, he was rudely awakened from his nap on the couch by his phone vibrating on the coffee table in front of him.

Ben made a muffled noise as he sat up, wiping his eyes tiredly before reaching to grab his phone. Not even checking the caller ID, Ben answered, muttering a ‘hello?’.

“Benjamin Organa-Solo, where in the world are you?” An angry Rey questioned from the other end of the line. _Shit._

“Sorry Rey, I fell asleep on the couch. Tell coach I’ll be a bit late.” Ben mumbled, hanging up before Rey could yell at him again. Checking his notifications, he realized Carolus had replied to his text last night - "That sounds lovely. See you tomorrow at practice - Carolus" Now with an incentive to go, he stood up to go change, grab his bag, and slip on his shoes before walking out of his dorm, keys in hand.

He decided he would just walk there, seeing as he was just going to walk with Carolus to the coffee shop, so bringing his car would be useless. The short walk finally woke him up, and by the time he reached the building, he was walking at a brisk pace – bordering on a jog. It took him less than five minutes to get changed into his uniform and make his way onto the ice.

From across the room, he could see Rey glaring daggers at him. “You’re a dead man Ben Solo!” Rey yelled from her seat on the side lines. As Ben cautiously stepped onto the ice, Carolus slid past him with a gloved hand over his mouth as he tried to stifle his laughter.

“Shut up, 'Lus.” Ben muttered, to which Carolus shot him a fake smile. Ben skated across the ice, timidly sitting down next to Rey on the sidelines. Before Ben could say anything, Rey raised her hand and hit him on the back of the head.

“Ouch! What was that for?” Ben muttered, rubbing the spot where she hit him.

“For being late. Aunt Leia raised you better, and _you_ should know better.” Rey replied, placing her hands back into her gloves. “So, how goes it on the Carolus front?” She continued, turning her head to look at the older boy.

“We’re going out for coffee after practice.” Ben replied, his eyes still glued to Carolus. He was trying to teach Finn and Phasma how to perform a double toe loop. Finn attempted to do one, only to fall right on his ass. After seeing how it went for Finn, Phasma decided against trying but opted for watching Carolus.

“Hey Ben, c’mere!” Carolus hollered, waving Ben over to him. Ben turned to look at Rey, who simply shrugged. Ben got up onto the ice, skating his way over to Carolus and avoiding Finn who was still sitting on the ground laughing.

“What’s up?” He asked, looking at Carolus expectantly.

“I wanna see if you can do a toe loop. Although, I'm not getting my hopes up after what happened with these two.” Carolus teased as he motioned to Phasma and Finn.

“Hm, let me consider it. Well, uh, _no._ ” Ben replied sarcastically, earning a dramatic eye roll from Carolus.

“C’mon, it’s not that hard.” Carolus pleaded, his lips forming into a pout. Ben let out a whining noise, only making the other man pout even more.

“Damn you. Alright, how do you do it?” Ben finally agreed, watching as a bright grin spread across Carolus's thin lips before he went to prepare to execute the jump. Ben watched as he began sliding forward, gaining momentum before lifting his feet off the ground, his ankles locking around each other as he spun two times around in the air before landing and sliding behind Ben.

“Well shit.” Ben meant to think to himself, but ended up saying aloud. “Yeah, there’s no way in hell I’m doing that.” Ben shook his head.

“Aw, please?” Carolus begged, batting his eyelashes hopefully. He skated over to him, placing a quick kiss on his cheek.

“Hey Solo, when your done flirting we need a goalie!” Poe called over to him. Ben turned to look at Poe, only to realize the rest of the team had also turned to look at him and were now giggling into their hands like children.

“You’re off the hook,” Carolus shrugged. “For now.” He finished, throwing a wink at a flushed Ben as he skated away. Ben swallowed the lump in his throat, trying to ignore the rising heat on his cheeks as he slid back over to the other side of the rink.

“So, Solo, what’s with you and 'Lus?” Poe smirked smugly, gliding past Ben.

“Shut up, Dameron.” Ben grumbled, shoving his helmet on as he slid into goalie position. This was going to be the longest practice of his life.

_________________________

Ben felt like he was going to jump for joy when coach dismissed the team. He snorted when he saw Carolus sprawled out on the ice, groaning dramatically.

“Messed up that triple axel again?” Ben asked, seeing Carolus nod shamefully. “You’ll get it next time. Now get off the ground, and get ready. I have to win your heart over a cup of coffee.” Ben said as he glided away, hearing Carolus snort as he stood up.

Ben made his way into the locker room, chucking his helmet into his open duffel and peeling off his jersey. He nearly tripped over Poe who was lying on the floor half naked. “Poe? You okay buddy?” Ben asked, nudging Poe with his bare foot.

“Mmph.” Poe made a muffled noise into the floor, covering his head with his arms.

“Anyone know what’s up with up with Dameron?” Ben inquired, directed to the entire room.

“He said and I quote 'Finn is too cute and hot at the same time, stab me please.” Snap explained, tugging on his t-shirt and jeans. Ben replied with a brief ‘ah’, before jumping in the shower. Quickly, Ben washed the sweat off, and washed his hair before stepping out of the shower and drying off.

"What's all the rush for, Ben?" Jessika asked, narrowing her eyes at Ben. "You're usually the last one out."

"I have a date with Carolus." Ben replied, tugging his shirt on. Apparently, this was big news because Snap spit out his water, Jessika's jaw dropped, Poe shot up into a sitting position to gape at him, and the rest of the team stared at him like he had sprouted another head.

"Carolus? As in Carolus Alexander Hux III? The figure skater Carolus?" Jessika managed to utter, her eyes still blown wide in shock.

"Uh, yeah? What's the big deal?" Ben inquired, hearing gasps of shock from various players.

"Many have tried to tap that, but no one has ever succeeded." Poe said, the others nodding in confirmation. 

"Really? He seemed pretty forward the other day." Ben shrugged. Jessika looked as if she were about to faint.

"Ben, you're going to be late! Go, lover boy, and tell us all about it after!" Rey said, shoving the rest of Ben's clothes into his arms.

"Alright, alright." Ben finally said, getting dressed and cleaned up before exiting the locker room.

He walked back out around the stands, noticing Carolus sitting down on one of the benches staring down at his phone. His skates had been replaced by regular shoes, and his pale cheeks were flushed by the chill of the room. In all honesty, Ben thought it was the most adorable thing he’d ever seen.

“'Lus,” Ben called, catching the boy’s attention. “Ready to go?” He finished, watching as Carolus nodded and stood up to make his way down to him.

They idly chatted as they leisurely made their way out of the building and to the coffee shop a few blocks away. Once inside, Ben took Carolus order – dismissing his insistence that ‘he must pay, it’s the proper thing to do’. There weren’t very many people there; only one person in line and a few people dispersed among the booths.

Ben grabbed the two cups, snickering under his breath when he saw the name the barista put on Carolus's cup. _Caroline._

Ben made his way over to the table where Carolus was seated. He was staring out the window in some sort of trance, so when Ben placed the cup down in front of him, he jumped in his seat making Ben chuckle. “Here’s your coffee, _Caroline_.” Ben teased, turning the cup so Carolus could see the mistake written in sharpie on the side.

“I swear, this happens every time I get coffee. Last time I came here, they wrote Carol on my cup.” Carolus sighed, sounding exasperated yet amused. Ben laughed, taking a sip of his coffee as he leaned back in his seat. So far so good.

_________________________

The next day, everyone was giving Ben huge smiles and dorky thumbs up. "Why is everyone so happy with me today? They're looking at me like I cured cancer." Ben muttered to Rey, whose face lit up in a gigantic grin. 

"Jessika's sister saw Carolus at their skating practice this morning and apparently they saw some hickey's poking out from the top of his collar." Rey giggled, seeing Ben's face turn bright red.

Well now everyone knew what Ben was doing last night. Or more like _who ___he was doing.

**Author's Note:**

> check out my tumblr - http://cosmickenobi.tumblr.com/


End file.
